Study Bible - "
Mundo Hispano" (Hispanic World)
Editorial:
Mundo Hispano (Hispanic World)
Baptist Publishing House
Gospel of Matthew - Chapter 2
CULTURAL NOTES
Matthew 2:1
2:1 Geographically Matthew's gospel covers a fairly narrow section of territory.
For example:
1-2, Bethlehem, Egypt and Nazareth;
3- 4:11, Jordan River Valley;
4:12, 13, Galilee;
14-18, northern Galilee;
19-20, journey to Jerusalem;
21-28, Jerusalem.
Bethlehem, the first place mentioned, was a small village south of Jerusalem, which Hebrew scholars had clearly identified as the birthplace of the Messiah (cf. Mic 5:2; Matt. 2:5; John 7:42).
2:1 In 525 AD. C., in Rome at the request of Bishop John I, a Scythian monk named Dionysius Exiguos drew up a new calendar different from the Greco-Roman one that was based on the date of foundation of the city of Rome (ab urbe condita, AUC).
His reference was "the year of the Lord" (Anno Domini) which dated to 754 AUC, but he was wrong, as Herod died in 750 AUC. So, possibly, Jesus was born between the years 6-4 BC. C.
Matthew 2:2
2:2 Some have suggested that the star was a supernova or a planetary conjunction but, from its movements and the dwelling on the house, it is better to assume that it was
a supernatural sign from God similar to the Shekinah glory that led the Israelites through the wilderness in the days of Moses (Ex. 13:21).
On the other hand, the ancients believed that
fleeting stars and comets could predict the fall of kingdoms.
Matthew 2:8
2:8 Bethlehem ("house of bread") also called Ephrata (cf. Gen. 35:19) was
the city of King David's ancestors, the site of Rachel's burial, and the prophesied birthplace of the Messiah (Miq. 5:2).
Herod's deception resembles that of another tyrant:
Pharaoh who instructed midwives to kill Hebrew male children (Ex. 1:16).
Matthew 2:16
2:16 Herod orders the children to be killed, calculating the time of his interview with the Magi (cf. Matt. 2:7).
The historian Josephus does not mention this fact, however, because of Herod's known cruelty, and because the number of victims was probably not large (perhaps twenty or less), the fact may have gone unnoticed in history.
Augustus Caesar said that it was better to be a pig of Herod than to be the son of Herod (the Greek word for pig is hus, and the Greek word for son is huios, which have a very similar pronunciation) because he was bloodthirsty with his own children.
Matthew 2:22
2:22 Archelaus, appointed by Augustus, had a short and bad rule (4 BC-6 AD) over Judea, Idumea and Samaria, as an ethnarch (i.e., little less than king).
In his administration
there was a rebellion in Jerusalem during Passover.
Three thousand people died at the hands of his soldiers, and
this fact probably must have contributed to Joseph's decision to move to the northern region of Galilee of the Gentiles.
HERMENEUTICAL NOTES
Matthew 2:6
2:6 This prophecy combines Micah 5:2 with 2 Samuel 5:2 and 1 Chronicles 11:12, and emphasizes Matthew's thesis that the King of the kingdom has a dual ruling character: King and Shepherd.
(Personal note added: Justice and Grace)
The Greek word for ruler (egoumenos) evokes the image of strength, resolve, and leadership.
Shepherding (poimanei) emphasizes rather the idea of care and consolation.
Christ's eschatological government will contemplate these two aspects (cf. Rev. 12:5; 21:3ff.).
(Personal note added: God's character is the same since the book of Genesis, he is King, he applies justice, but he is also our Shepherd, Psalm 91, he always cares and provides Grace.)
Matthew 2:15
2:15 Matthew implies that
Jesus in his person recapitulates the history of Israel (Matt. 2:18; 4:1-11), and repeats the religious experience of leaving Egypt.
Since that country was the place of asylum of the Israel of old, now it is the place of asylum of the Anointed One. Matthew uses Hosea to reaffirm, in parallelism, the fact that Jesus is the liberating Messiah,
whose birth and childhood are supernaturally protected just as Israel was.
TEXTUAL NOTES
Matthew 2:11
2:11 The word paidion for child is used here, and not creature (brefos) as Luke 2:16 does. So Jesus, because of his age, had already been
moved from the manger to the house a long time ago.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES
Matthew 2:22,23
2:23 - Archaeological evidence in the region of Nazareth indicates that
many people had moved there from Judea, from the area near Bethlehem. Joseph may have had friends or family in Nazareth (Luke 2:4).
There is no single text in the OT for the reference of Nazarene.
ETHICAL ARTICLE
Matthew 2:13
2:13 - That humble carpenter was a protagonist of the incarnation of God, and is
a true model of man, husband, believer and father. As a man he fell in love with the very woman on whom God had set his eyes;
he honored Mary's motherhood and rescued her even at the cost of his social image.
As a
husband he was serene and thoughtful.
As a
believer he was obedient and God-fearing, we never find a word of reproach on his lips.
As a
father, he protected Jesus' life in a society where the value of children was negligible.
He
prepared Jesus for life,
instructed him, and
presented him to God as an offering.
APOLOGETIC ARTICLE
Matthew 2:16
2:16 The birth of the King while another was in office was a
declaration of war.
This
triggered unprecedented political conflict in the Jewish nation.
More so when that King was coming from God, a fact that had only one antecedent in Jewish history: David, a king made after God's own heart, who supernaturally intervened to protect his own incarnation by directing the steps of Joseph and the Magi. Herod's reaction was what he was used to:
Kill anyone who crossed his vain interests, as he did with his own children. The killing of the children was an unnecessary massacre, yet it is recorded in history as mute and sad evidence of the historicity of Jesus.
MAP - Flee into Egypt
ARTICLE - THE WISE MEN OF THE EAST
Only Matthew mentions them.
Despite having a rather enigmatic profile, these men
are not at all equivalent to the characters we call "magicians" today.
They were probably
astronomers of the time.
The Greek word for magicians is magoi, and it was used to generally describe
men of science such as doctors, astronomers, philosophers, among others.
These wise men from the East
were not in the manger, Matthew tells that
they arrived at the house where the baby Jesus was with his parents.
Furthermore, the fact that Herod the Great ordered all children under the age of two to be killed (cf. Matt. 2:16), suggests that this event did not occur at the birth of Jesus,
but many months later.
Contrary to the Christian tradition,
Matthew says nothing about the number of the wise men, nor anything about their
identity such as their names; even less any detail
about the color of his skin. Matthew also
does not specify that they were “kings”.
What the Apostle does describe with complete precision are at least three fundamental things:
the place of origin, the purpose of their visit and the gifts they brought. They came from the east. Probably from the ancient
region of Babylon, Media and Persia. They
came to worship him (Matt. 2:2; 2:11). This gesture can speak of your true conviction; being pagans they now understood who the true King was.
They offered Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh, gifts fit for a king.
The birth of the King of kings could not be outside the majestic coming of the stars and the great cosmos that he himself had created. This supernatural event illustrates the universal character of Immanuel's person, message, and work.
JG_New Testament Commentary
JG_A Summary of the Life of John Gill.pdf